


Elysian | a holmesbury AU

by milevenstyles



Category: Enola Holmes (2020), Enola Holmes Series - Nancy Springer, Holmesbury - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Paris, Alternate Universe - Road Trip, Amsterdam, Angst and Romance, Awkward Romance, Disney World & Disneyland, Dorks in Love, Europe, F/M, First Love, Fluff, Funny, Love, Love Triangles, Road Trips, Sarcasm, Teen Angst, Teen Romance, Teenage Drama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:27:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26712199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milevenstyles/pseuds/milevenstyles
Summary: Elysian/ɪˈlɪzɪən/adjectiverelating to or characteristic of heaven or paradise.•••Trying to escape her pressurizing older brother Mycroft, Enola Holmes spontaneously decides to go for the trip across Europe that her university has planned. Friendless and not really liked by anyone, she starts regretting her decision as soon as the trip starts. Until she meets Tewksbury and his (obnoxious) friends, who decide to take her in their group for the rest of the trip.•••
Relationships: Enola Holmes & Viscount "Tewky" Tewksbury, Enola Holmes/Viscount "Tewky" Tewksbury
Comments: 20
Kudos: 169





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this story contains mature language. read at your own risk ! please do not copy my idea, i've worked really hard on this au. and lastly, i hope you all love this book ! ily all <3

Enola sighed as she got up from her seat. Packing her textbook in her bag, she looked around at her classmates who were scurrying around and celebrating the beginning of their summer holidays. She slung her backpack across her shoulders and walked out of the class. 

The day was perfect, she thought. The whole campus was filled with screaming and excited students, all talking about what they were going to do in their holidays, what all places they would see.

For Enola, summer holidays meant her studying more than usual, and attending her ever growing list of extra classes. 

The sun was beaming, and as she sat down on a nearby bench, she saw a bird perched on a branch, chirping happily. Ever since she was little, she always wished she was a bird. They always seemed so happy, so free. She was far from both. 

She closed her eyes and let the sun warm her skin. She took in a breath as she felt a breeze ruffle her short brown hair. She knew she couldn't stay long, but she couldn't bear the thought of going back to that prison, that was her house. She knew her brother would be there, waiting for her, ready to scold her for the littlest things. 

Her eyes snapped open as her phone rang. She picked it up without even glancing who it was. She didn't even need to guess twice to know who the call was from. It's not like she had any friends who would call her. 

"Hey Mycroft.", she said, already exasperated. "Why aren't you home yet?", the gruff voice on the other line asked, without even bothering to say hello. Her brother was such a piece of shit, Enola thought for the eight time that day. 

"It's the last day. I got caught up, and the professor was giving us last minute assignments.", she said, trying to make up a lie. There was a silence on the other end, and she was sure that he didn't believe it at all. 

"Alright. I'll let this one slide, but only because I'm in a good mood today.", he said to which she replied, "So generous of you, brother." and cut the phone even without saying goodbye. 

"AGHHH!" she let out a cry of frustration, she felt so helpless. She was so tired of her life, of her stupid brother, of studying. But there wasn't anything she could do, so she got up and started walking towards the university gate. 

As she was trying to escape the huge rush of students at the gate, she overheard a few of them excitedly talking about the Europe trip her University had planned, which was starting the day after tomorrow, and which she obviously wasn't going to. While they would be roaming around the streets of Paris, she would be probably studying in the library. Yay.

On reaching her house, Enola saw her brother sitting in their huge living room, waiting for her. Before he could say anything to her, she ran up to her room, closed her door, and flung herself on her bed. 

She looked at the beautiful day outside and wondered how different her life would be if her dad hadn't died and her mom would actually spend some time with her once in a while. 

Her life wasn't bad at all. They were rich, she was living in a huge house, she would come first in every class and she had great clothes to wear. Anyone who knew her knew that her life was perfect. And in some ways, it was, and she was always grateful.

But Enola felt lonely all the time. Which was very ironic, since her name spelt backwards was literally alone. Her mother always told her that she needed no one, that she could do great things all alone. And she could. But she didn't want to. She wanted to have a normal family, one that asked her how her day was, how she was coping with her studies and one that actually spend time with her, taking her places and having fun with her. 

But she knew she sounded like an entitled brat, so she didn't say anything to anyone and just went with it.

At around eight, Enola was starting to feel hungry. So she closed her history book and walked down the stairs, dreading to have her dinner with her brother. But to her surprise, she saw their mother sitting at the table talking to Mycroft. 

Delighted, she rushed to her mother, who smiled and hugged her tightly. She loved her mother, even though she wasn't around much. She was the only family Enola had.

"Mum, I can't believe you're here!", she exclaimed like a five year old. Her mother smiled warmly. "I had a meeting late today, so I decided to take a break now so we can have dinner together."

Mycroft cleared his throat as they took their seats at the dinner table. "I was just telling mother," he said, "About how you're not that great at sports. And how I was thinking to improve that. And we agreed that perhaps tennis would be a good fit for you. You start tennis classes tomorrow morning."

Enola fought the urge to groan. Not another extra class. Wasn't she attending enough classes already? But enough was never a word in her brother's dictionary. 

She tried to control the fight rising out of her. "Mycroft," she said slowly, "I already attend so many classes that you've told me to, from piano to cryptography. And I have to study as well. How am I going to manage?" She glanced at her mother, who wants eating her soup, not saying anything.

"I'll manage your schedule ofcourse. And I will make sure that you don't waste a single second.", he said as a matter of fact, and had a spoonful of his soup. 

"But it's summer!", she said, her voice rising. "How does it matter? It's not like you have any friends to spend time with.", he shrugged. 

Enola stared at her brother, clenching her fists under the table. She glanced at her mother, waiting for her to interject or even chastise Mycroft for speaking that way to his sister. But all she said was, "He's right darling. And he's doing it for your own good. So listen to him."

At that moment, something snapped in Enola. She wasn't going to take this shit. Not anymore. She was done. Done with her controlling brother, done with her mother who never ever gave her any attention and done with not having a life of her own.

"No.", she simply said. Mycroft and her mother stopped eating their soups and looked at her. "No what?", Mycroft asked her quietly, but his eyes were narrowed. Her mother just simply stared.

Enola raised her head higher. "No, I won't do it. No more classes. No more schedules. It's summer, and I have no plans, or friends or anything lined up for me that I want to do. I'm done with your pressurizing self, Mycroft. For once, I'm going to what I want."

Mycroft looked horrified at her refusal, his jaw tightened. She looked at her mother, who had a hint of a smile on her face. "Fine. So what is it that you want, Enola?" she asked. 

Enola raised her head high and smiled. She had already decided it, and she had secretly wanted it all along. 

"I'm going on a trip, mother. A trip my university has planned. It leaves day after tomorrow.", she said, proud of herself. 

Her brother let out a sarcastic laugh. "And how are you going to go for a trip that's leaving so soon? You don't have enough time!" 

She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm Enola Holmes. I'll find a way.", she smirked, before getting up and walking out of the room.

•••

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey ! so this is something new that i'm starting and i really hope y'all like it. i know nothing much happened in the first chapter but i wanted to ease into a little.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first and foremost, i want to thank you all for the overwhelming response y'all have given me for this au. i love all of you ! and i'll try very hard to update as soon as i can. second, for the whole trip in this book, there might be some inaccuracies, even though i'm doing a lot of research. and also, some things might even be changed on purpose. okay that's it, happy reading !

Enola looked around nervously around the very crowded St. Pancras station, as she waited to board the train that was getting cleaned at the moment. 

The train was to depart at 8:00 am, but Enola was very early, as usual. Now, she stood on the station platform in front of the gleaming Eurostar, the train that was to take them to all their destinations of their 8 day trip. 

As she sipped on the hot coffee she bought, she mentally went through her packing checklist again, hoping she hadn't forgotten anything important. 

She had never packed in a hurry before. On the rare occasions she actually travelled to someplace new, she always packed her bag three days in advance. For this trip, she didn't even have a day. 

It was a miracle that the university accepted her application in the first place. It was only because professor Greene, her favorite teacher, was in charge of those applications and agreed to take her in her group at the last minute because even she felt that Enola needed a break. 

The sound of a group of girls laughing loudly snapped Enola out of her thoughts. She looked up from the book she was reading and saw that the doors of the train were open. 

She dragged her suitcase over to a huge group formed where professor Greene was standing with two other professors, shouting instructions to everyone who was going on the trip.

As she was listening to the instructions, Enola surveyed her classmates who were accompanying her. She knew no one, which wasn't surprising because she had never made talking to anyone a priority. Her only priority was studying and topping the class. 

Suddenly it dawned on her that she was all alone. She didn't know even a single person in that group, and she was going to spend a whole week with them. Hell, she didn't even know anyone to share a room with. She was probably going to end up with one of her professors as her roomie. Great. 

With that miserable thought, Enola climbed on the train. The university had booked a whole compartment, so the students could sit anywhere they wanted. Everyone piled in, trying to find seats for all their friends. 

After struggling through a crowd, Enola found a seat near the end of compartment in one of the four seats that faced each other. She looked back to see that she was right near the bathrooms. Ugh. Now people would be always looking at her as they would wait for their turn. 

At exactly 8 AM, the train left the station and speedily moved towards their destination, Amsterdam. 

Enola sighed and looked out of her window. The train was passing by a gorgeous forest now, and she stared at the tall and beautiful trees, sunlight filtering through them in beams. She wished she could stop the train, and just lie down in the forest, surrounded by the sunlight and the trees and flowers and the grass. 

She wondered if she had made the right decision, coming on this trip. She didn't know anyone, didn't have any friends, and would miss all her classes and waste her study time. "Shut up, Enola", she scolded herself as she tried to rid herself of those thoughts. 

She had done this for herself, because she deserved it. She shouldn't be thinking about her studies now. Plus she had brought a few of her textbooks with her, so she could study in her free time. And there was no going back now anyways. 

So she tried to distract herself of her thoughts. Popping in her earphones, she took out the trip itinerary from her backpack and read it again. 

The trip would would last eight days, and they would visit four cities, starting with Amsterdam, where they would stay for two days, continuing with Brussels for a day. Then a two day stay at Paris, which had a bonus day at Disneyland. Lastly, they would finish the trip with a two day stay at Nice. The Eurostar would take them to all these places. 

Enola smiled to herself. With friends or not, she was excited for the trip. She would get to see so many new places, and it was a always a dream of hers to visit Paris. And as a history major, visiting all these places was honestly the best thing that had happened to her. 

She put the itinerary back and pulled out the book she was previously reading. Hoping that the noise around her the students were making would quiet down, she started reading. 

She was completely immersed in her book when a voice interrupted her. "So which book are you reading?" She looked up to see a tall boy smiling at her. It threw her off a bit, since no one in her university had ever bothered to talk to her. 

"Um, I, uh-", she stuttered. Why was she stuttering? Her mother would be disappointed at the lack of confidence she was showing right now. 

She cleared her throat. "I'm reading Little Women." He nodded. "I've never read it before. Is it good?"

Enola stared at the boy, wondering if he was making fun of her or actually wanted to talk to her about the book. She assumed the former. "No, I hate it actually. I'm just reading it so I can list down all the horrible things in this book that I hate." she said, rolling her eyes. 

He grinned at her. "Okay. So what do you hate about this book?" Now he was definitely making fun of her. "Did you want something from me?", she snapped at him. 

He looked taken aback, and Enola felt a little bad, but she brushed it away. He raised his hands. "Sorry. Was just making conversation while I waited for my turn to pee. You looked lonely so-" 

"Well I'm not." she interrupted him. He nodded and turned to face away from her. 

Enola felt a pang of regret in her chest. Maybe he really was trying to be nice to her, and she was so rude to him. What's wrong with her? 

And he was right. She was lonely. And now she might have had a chance to actually have a friend, but she ruined it. As always.

She heard him come out of the toilet and was about to pass her when she called out to him. "Wait!"

He turned and looked at her and raised his eyebrow. "I um, wanted to apologize." He tilted his head and smirked. Her breath caught in her throat. He was attractive, she had to admit. 

"For...?" he asked. "For behaving rudely with you. It was uncalled for.", she said sheepishly. He smiled and walked towards her. 

"It's alright. People have called me a lot of things, and annoying was always one of them.", he said, hesitating to take a seat. "Well, don't expect to disagree with that.", she smiled a little and motioned to take a seat. 

She didn't know why he wanted to talk to her, much less sit with her, but she didn't say anything. She honestly needed a friend and even though he was the exact opposite of the friend she would normally have, she didn't mind his company so much. 

He sat opposite to her and stared at her. "I'm Tewksbury. Nice to meet you." he extended his hand. Enola took it slowly, and was surprised to find his hand very soft and warm. 

"I'm Enola Holmes.", she said, trying to get rid of the goosebumps that arose on her skin. "I know. And before you think that I'm some psycho stalker who knows everything about you, everyone here knows you are."

She sighed. "Yeah. Because my whole family is famous?" He shook his head. "Um, no. I don't know about others, but I know you because you're super smart. You always score the highest in our year. I really admire that.", he smiled.

Enola felt her face heating up. She had never been complimented like that, and no one had ever told her that they admired her. "Uh, thanks.", she managed to muster. 

He looked out of the window. There was nothing to look outside, since they were in the channel tunnel that connected London to the other European countries. 

"What are you going to do for the whole train ride? Aren't you going to get bored?", he asked her. She wanted to tell him how she had no idea what she was going to do for the whole trip, let alone the whole ride. But she just shrugged and pointed to her book. 

He made a face, and got up in a flash. "No way in hell you're staying here in your sad little seat. You're sitting with us."

The word 'us' made Enola panic. She could deal with Tewksbury, but his friends? Not a chance. 

"But I really don't think your friends would want me there." she said, hoping to get away from this predicament somehow. "Nonsense." he dismissed her. "They're going to love you, you're so nice."

She laughed. "You do realize that the first conversation we had ended up with me shouting at you, right? What part of that made you think I'm nice?", she questioned. 

He gave her smile. "The part where you apologized right after for doing that." She couldn't help but smile back, and she picked up her backpack as started dragging her suitcase. 

Enola was glad she had made a friend in Tewksbury, but she was sure that his friends wouldn't like her. Why would they? She had no friendship skills and she was the exact opposite of their group. 

But she wanted to be different. She didn't want to be the same Enola who never wanted to have friends and who prioritized her studies more than anything. She wanted to be someone who actually knows how to have fun. Who lives her life her own way. 

So she followed Tewksbury as he lead her towards her friends, as all the people she passed by gawked at them, and tried to be the Enola she had always wanted to be.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> read note at the end please ! thank you :)

Enola could hear the loud laughs and shouts that Tewksbury's friends were making as they neared his seat. Now that she thought of it, she remembered seeing them on campus, always screaming and laughing and attracting attention from everyone.

As they got nearer, Enola could spot three people sitting together. The first person she noticed was a girl with fiery red hair let down in beautiful waves, and very pale skin, like a doll. 

She was holding another girl's hand, with straight, jet black hair and skin as clear as a summer day. They both were talking to a very handsome boy with long brown hair tied up in a bun. They stopped in front of them. 

"Guys, guess who brought a new friend!", Tewksbury announced, which made Enola blush from embarrassment. Why was he like this? 

All of his friends looked up at the same time, their faces puzzled. "A new friend?", a girl with long red hair asked him. "You want us to believe that people other than us can tolerate you?", the raven haired girl smirked. 

He rolled his eyes and moved aside, so they all could see Enola. She had never felt more self conscious in her life, wondering if her baby pink skirt and off white top was the right outfit, or if her hair was messed up. She hated that feeling of insecurity. 

"Hey, everyone. I'm Enola Holmes.", she said confidently, not wanting to make a bad impression on them. They all stared at her, as if she couldn't be real, that there was no way she would be standing here talking to them. 

"We know." the girl with the red hair spoke first. Then she smiled. "Nice to meet you, Enola." Enola felt relief spreading through her. At least this girl liked her. Or maybe she was just good at pretending. Either way, she was happy someone was smiling at her. 

Tewksbury ushered her to take the empty seat. The red haired girl spoke again. "My name is Natasha, but you can call me Nat. And this is my girlfriend, Aiko." Enola politely smiled at them. 

"And that is Aryan. Aryan goes by they/them pronouns.", she pointed. Enola must have looked a little bit confused, because Aryan came to her rescue. "I'm non-binary. Which means, I don't associate myself with either masculinity or femininity. I consider myself outside the gender binary." they smiled. 

"Thank you for explaining that to me, Aryan. And it's very nice meeting all of you.", Enola smiled a little, happy that this was going better than she had imagined. She had imagined the worst, but his friends were nothing short of sweet or welcoming. 

"Wait", Tewksbury looked around. "Where's Z?" Everyone grinned at him. "You were gone for a while, so Z decided to look for you, incase you fell off the train or something." Aiko laughed. 

Just then, they heard a soft voice behind them. "Guys, I've looked everywhere I really think he fell off-" everyone looked at her as she stopped mid sentence when she saw Tewksbury. "Tewky! What the hell? Where were you?" she punched him in the arm. 

"Ow! I got held up, I had wonderful company.", he grinned, looking at Enola. The girl, who she assumed was Z, looked at Enola as if she was just noticing her sitting there. 

She stared at her for a minute, and Enola couldn't help but do the same. She was tall, and absolutely gorgeous, with long dark brown hair that she had tied in braids. She couldn't help but feel intimidated by her. 

"Enola, as in Enola Holmes?", she asked, unsmiling. Enola knew that she wasn't going to be liked much by her. "Yeah. Nice to meet you...?"

"Zahra. I'm Tewksbury's best friend." she said, which gave rise to snickers from the rest of their group. Enola found that weird, but she didn't say anything while Zahra finished glaring at her friends. 

Tewksbury sat down, and as Zahra went to sit next to him, he stopped her. "Z, let Enola sit next to me." Zahra gaped at him as if she was punched in the gut. "But why? She's already sitting with the others."

Enola had never been more uncomfortable. She stared at the two of them. "Tewksbury, it's okay. I'm alright here." He smiled at her. "But you still haven't told me what you hate about Little Women! Come on, show me your list.", he patted the seat next to him. 

Zahra sighed, and stood next to Enola's seat. She looked at her apologetically and went and sat next to Tewksbury. Zahra was definitely going to hate her now. Something about her and Tewksbury told her that they weren't just friends. 

After sitting next to the biggest chatbox in the world, Enola's time on the train passed by quickly. And even though Tewksbury never stopped talking, she liked listening to him, and he loved asking her questions about her life.

Sometimes she would talk to his friends as well, and as they all shared their hilarious experiences when traveling, Enola found herself having the most fun she ever had in her life. 

She had never been given so much attention all her life, and she had to constantly remind herself that all this was temporary and would be over as soon as the train reached Amsterdam. 

Which it did, all too soon. They reached Amsterdam by noon, and once they all got off and assembled to go to the hotel, Enola turned to Tewksbury and his friends. "Thank you for sitting with me. You all were so sweet. So, um, see you." she awkwardly walked away from them when she felt someone clutching her wrist. 

"Where do you think you're going Holmes?", Tewksbury grinned at her. Enola stared at his hand wrapped around her wrist and felt blood rush to her face. "What? I'm going to stand with the rest of them. Thank you for introducing me to your friends, they were amazing. I had a lot of fun.", she smiled, praying her face wasn't red. 

"So did they. And you think you can get rid of us so easily? You're staying with us for the rest of the trip! Zahra needs a roommate anyway." He moved closer to her ear. "Don't tell anyone, but she's afraid of the dark." 

He moved back, and Enola didn't even realize she was holding her breath. She let out a laugh. "Thank you for the offer, but I really don't think they want me to stay." 

He looked at her, his eyes softened. "And if I asked you to stay?" Enola couldn't speak for a second, which was funny since she made it a point to have an answer for every question asked to her.

"Well, um, if they really won't mind, I'll stay.", she managed to say, her breath quickened. Her gave her a bright smile and pulled her towards his group. 

Enola tried to compose herself as everyone, except Zahra, cheered when Tewksbury told them that she would be with them for the rest of the trip. Guess they liked her a bit after all. 

An hour later, Enola and Zahra stopped in front of the room they would be sharing, even though she wasn't too happy about it. They were given thirty minutes to get ready, after which they would go to lunch and start sightseeing.

She couldn't wait for the sightseeing part. From what she had seen, Amsterdam was absolutely gorgeous, and she couldn't wait to visit the museums and take a boat ride. 

She sat down on one of the twin beds, and let out a breath. "This room is great, right?", she asked Zahra, who was checking out the bathroom. 

"Bet you have a room exactly like this.", she said crossing her arms. Enola shrugged. "Yeah. A little smaller than this." Zahra shrugged too. "So it doesn't matter to you, right? Because you're already used to this."

Enola didn't know how to reply to that, so she changed the topic. She had seen a tattoo of dove in flight on her wrist and was dying to ask her about it. She loved tattoos, but her brother would never let her get one. 

"I love your tattoo so much. What does it mean?", she asked slowly. "Thanks. It's just a bird." she said, clearly annoyed. 

Now Enola was getting angry. She didn't have any experience with friends, but she knew that shehad been nothin but sweet to her. And all Zahra had done was be rude to her, and Enola didn't even have an idea as to why she was angry with her. 

"What is your problem with me?" she got from her bed and stood in front of her. Enola wasn't that tall, but Zahra must have been atleast five feet and nine inches. She towered over her, his face still not showing any emotion. 

"What? I don't have a problem with you, Enola.", she said, rolling her eyes. "Cut the bullshit! I don't know what I did to make you hate me, and I'm sorry. But you have to tell me because I won't take your damn attitude one more minute!"

Enola thought that she had finally done it, ruined her last chance for actually having a friend. But she meant every single word, and didn't regret saying it for one second. 

She expected Zahra to scream at her, but instead she surprised Enola by smiling. "Hmm. So you're not the goody two shoes every one calls you? How surprising."

She took a seat on her bed and sighed. "I don't hate you Enola. I really don't. It's just that...it's about Tewkey.", she said, avoiding her eyes. 

Enola sat beside her. "Tewksbury? But I just met him!" Zahra looked up at her, with a slightly embarrassed smile. "Exactly. You both just met, but he's just so enamoured by you! And I um, I really, really like him and it's just-" 

Enola interrupted her. "Oh my god! Zahra, I assure you, I don't like Tewksbury, and neither does he like me. We became friends not even six hours ago. I'm sorry if I'm sending the wrong signals, but I assure you, I only came on this trip because I needed a break. I don't want to get distracted by anything, and my studies are the most important thing to me."

She started laughing, and after a moment so did Zahra. The whole situation was so absurd. Why would she ever consider being with Tewksbury? It seemed stupid to even think about. 

Zahra ran a hand over her face. "God, I'm so embarrassed. I'm sorry Enola. I guess I am a little paranoid." Enola smiled at her. "Yeah, a tad bit." she said, to which she received a mock glare from her. 

Enola retouched her makeup, and was brushing her hair when Zahra spoke again. "My grandmother and I had a very special relationship."

Confused, Enola looked back at her. Zahra was smiling at her tattoo. "When I was younger, she used to take me bird watching all the time. We used to spend the whole day in the woods, competing as to who spots more birds than the other."

She looked up at her, and her eyes were filled with tears. "Those were the happiest moments of my life. And when she died, I felt like a huge part of me was gone. So in memory of her, I got this tattoo. A tribute to the most wonderful moments of my life."

Enola felt so moved, she was about to start sobbing herself. "Thank you for telling me that, Zahra. That was wonderful." she said, hugging her. 

It felt good, having a friend. Someone who she could laugh with, and who told her stories about their lives, the meanings of their tattoos. 

"You're not so bad, Enola. Thank you for understanding... about the Tewksbury thing, I mean.", Zahra said, wiping her eyes. 

Enola grinned. "Oh believe me, Zahra. You have nothing to worry. If Tewksbury was the last remaining man on the planet, I still won't choose him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know this chapter isn't my best, but i promise the next one will be great ! this au won't be that long, and i'll update in day or two :) ty for reading and sticking with me. ily all <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who's back with another mediocre chapter ! so sorry i was 2 days late, i was with my family. writing this chapter was so much fun, and because i'm late, i'm updating again in a few hours ! so stay tuned, and happy reading :)

Tewksbury watched Enola walk away to her room with Zahra. She tied her short brown hair in a ponytail and sighed, and stepped in the elevator which took her to her floor. He wondered what she was thinking about at the moment. 

He had no idea why he had invited her to be with them for the whole trip. It's not like he felt bad for her or anything. Even at college, he knew Enola never wanted to have any friends, she always preferred being alone. 

On the train too, she wasn't looking lonely, she was looking at peace, reading her book. But something inside Tewksbury told him to stop and talk to her. 

He didn't have the courage to talk to her at first. She had always seemed so unapproachable, always reading her books, always studying. He was so surprised to see her on the train since she was the last person he had expected to be on this trip.

"Tewkey, let's go. Our room is at-" Aryan paused as Tewksbury snapped out of his thoughts. "Yes, sorry. Lost in my thoughts. You were saying?" 

They smirked. "Forget what I said. What were you looking at? Or should I say who?" His face started to burn. Aryan never misses anything. 

"What? Nothing!", he shook his head wildly. Aryan shrugged. "If you say so." they smiled, walking towards the elevator. Tewksbury followed them, but something about their smile told him that they weren't convinced. 

Sitting on one of the twin beds, his thoughts drifted back to Enola and Zahra. He had noticed that even though most of the group had warmed up to Enola, liked her even, Zahra was the only one who wasn't so happy with her joining the group. 

He hoped that whatever problems she had with Enola would be resolved, because for some reason he really wanted them to be good friends. 

Zahra was his best friend since childhood and she meant everything to him and Enola... well he couldn't understand what she meant to him, but he had to admit there was some type of connection between them. A connection that he wanted to explore.

After tidying themselves, Tewksbury and Aryan left their room for the much awaited Amsterdam tour. 

He always wanted to travel across Europe with his father. When he was younger he would sit for hours in his tree house forming plans for their trip, from the places they would visit to the new things they would try. 

But after his father's death, he couldn't even look at those plans, much less go to the places he and father had spent years happily talked about. It just wasn't right.

He wasn't even planning to come on this trip. Everytime he thought about going, his insides would fill up with guilt at how he even considered going somewhere that his father couldn't. It was only because of Zahra's persuasion that he reluctantly decided to join his friends for this trip. 

But now, as he walked out of the lobby of his hotel in Amsterdam, he didn't feel guilty at all. He could almost feel his father being with him, ready to be his guide to a new city. 

To his surprise, he saw Zahra and Enola laughing about something as they stood near their tour group. He was glad they had worked out whatever problems they had.

He walked towards them and stood next to Enola, who smiled at him. He already loved her smile, which he didn't get much of. She hardly smiled, which Tewksbury didn't like, because her smile was absolutely gorgeous and the world needed to see the most of it. 

She gave Zahra a look and walked away from him to Aryan, who were talking to Aiko and Nat. He looked at Zahra with confusion over his face.

"What was that about?", he asked her. She looked at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Enola. She just left as soon as I came here.", he said, looking at her as she was checking out a map with Aiko. Who carries maps nowadays? 

"Nothing. She must've wanted to talk to Aiko. They're really getting along, see?", she said, shrugging. "Why are you so obsessed with her anyway?"

He laughed. "I'm not obsessed Z. Just thought I did something wrong." She shook her head. "You're too nice Tewkey. You can never do anything wrong. Now come on, the bus is here."

She linked her fingers with his as they had always done since they were children, but today it felt different somehow. She stroked her thumb across his, and even though it didn't feel bad, it felt weird, like they shouldn't be doing this. 

On the way to the Madam Tussads Wax Museum, everyone was discussing whose wax figures they were most excited to see.

"Ariana Grande! I've been a fan forever and I've heard the statue looks pretty realistic." Zahra said, excitement clearly on her face. She grinned at him. "What about you?"

He thought about it for a moment. "George Clooney. I am such a big fan. I've watched most of his movies. They're masterpieces." Aryan laughed at him. "That's such a lie! You've only watched the Ocean's series."

He rolled his eyes. "And your point is?" Everyone laughed. He looked at Enola. She had tied her hair up in a bun, and he thought that she looked much better with her hair left open, not that she looked bad now, she always looked pretty. 

"What about you, Enola Holmes? Who are you most excited to see?" She shrugged. "I haven't thought about it. Taylor Swift maybe. I really like her music." Hearing her words, Aryan jumped. "No way. I love her. Holy shit, I finally met another Taylor stan. What's your favourite album?" 

With that, she turned to them and they both started talking excitedly. Something pinched in Tewksbury's chest. Maybe he should start listening to Taylor Swift too. 

"I guess Enola isn't the snobbish bookworm we thought she'd be, huh?", Zahra said, looking out of the window. For some reason, Tewksbury felt defensive. 

"I never thought she was snobbish. I always thought she was just super into her studies, is all. But that too is admirable.", he said looking at her and Aryan laughing and sharing earphones, probably listening to their favourite songs. Another pinch in the chest. He wanted to be the one sitting next to her, to make her laugh.

"Okay, weirdo. No need to get all worked up.", she stared at him, as if trying to figure out what was happening with him. Honestly he wanted to know that more than anyone.

After a tour of the wax museum, the group stopped for lunch. "God I'm dying of hunger." Nat said, rubbing her stomach. 

Enola was checking her map as they got down from the bus. "Enola, can you please check how far is the Bloemenmarkt from here?" Tewksbury asked her. 

She looked at him in confusion, but didn't ask any follow up questions. She checked her map. "Um, like seven minutes from here."

Tewksbury jumped. "It's so close. We can go and see it guys!" Everyone groaned. "But we're so hungry Tewks! Can't we go tomorrow?", Aryan whined. 

He looked at them. "No, Aryan, we can't. What if we aren't this close again? I can't risk it!" 

Zahra put a hand on his arm. "Tewks, we'll go after lunch okay? Everyone is very hungry." she said, her tone sounding like his mother used to calm him down.

"Blomenmarkt...isn't that the floating flower market? I read about it on the way here." Enola asked, pulling out her phone to look up the market. 

"Yeah. And Tewksbury wants to go because he's obsessed with flowers." Aiko said, sitting on a nearby table. 

Tewksbury could feel the anger rising. "I'm not obsessed? I'm literally a botany major! And I've loved flowers before I can even remember. You guys don't understand how important this is for me. What if we take too long to eat and don't have any time to stop by?"

He looked around the group, everyone tired and hungry. No one would understand why he wanted to go and see those flowers. They had no idea the time he had spent with his father reading on every single tulip variety there was, thinking about how they would go to that specific market and buy every type of flower bud sold there. 

His eyes met Enola's, and she looked at him like she understood his need to visit the market. As his friends joined Aiko on the table, she was the only one standing. She bit her lip. "I'll go with you."

He looked at her in surprise. "Really? But aren't you hungry?" She shook her head, but Nat interjected. "You just said you were starving a few minutes ago."

She shrugged. "Not hungry anymore. And someone will have to go with him, or he'll get lost and won't make it back in time.", she playfully said to Tewksbury, to which he laughed. Then she turned to Z. "You coming Zahra?"

Zahra shook her head. "No, I'm too hungry for this. You both carry on." she shrugged and looked at her empty plate. 

Enola sighed and looked at him. "Let's go Tewksbury." Tewksbury was so happy that they were actually going to the market, he didn't think and just engulfed Enola in a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" 

She didn't respond for five seconds, and Tewksbury thought he had done the worse thing possible. But the next second, she hugged him back awkwardly. She smelled great, like strawberries and cream. 

"Okay, um, let's go. We're late." she pulled away, not willing to look at him or any of his friends. 

She put on her backpack and started walking towards the market, tracing the route on her map. Tewksbury smiled at her. 

He had no idea why she, who had known him for less than a day, was willing to sacrifice her hunger and go to some stupid place like a flower market without even knowing the reason. And his friends, who knew how much flowers meant to him and why, didn't want to join him. 

He looked at his friends, told them to wait for them, and then ran behind her. Enola Holmes was really a mystery. But she was a mystery that he was absolutely dying to solve.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the late update ! if you're still reading this, just know that i love you very much <3 hope you enjoy reading this as much i enjoyed writing it :)

Enola could still smell Tewksbury's scent around her as she walked towards the flower market. He trailed behind her, trying to keep up with her fast pace. After that awkward (but oddly comforting) hug, she suddenly found it hard to look him in the eye. 

"You know, I really want to thank you. For leaving your lunch and coming with me. I honestly don't know why you would do that, given that we've been friends for a day, but still...thank you." he looked at her with a soft smile. 

"You're welcome. I only did it because...I sort of owed you. For helping me make friends. And getting me a roommate that's not a chaperone, obviously. And I hate being owed so, yeah." she said, trying to look at him from the corner of her eye.

"Oh. Well, you don't owe me anything, Enola. We're all glad to have you with us. And if you were doing it just for that and now you want to go back, we can." he stopped, and she did too. 

She finally looked at him, and his face had a somewhat disappointed expression. Enola instantly felt bad. "I didn't say I want to back, did I? Let's go Tewks, or we're going to miss our bus."

He smiled at her calling him Tewks, and followed her again. "We're here!" he announced cheerfully as he read the board at the entrance. 

Enola couldn't believe her eyes at the sight before her. The whole market stretched along a small lane, with stalls on both sides, each containing hundreds of flowers and buds in different size, shape and colour. 

She could somehow smell all of them together and each single one of them at the same time, and the scent reminded her of something ethereal. On the other side, she could see the Singel Canal, the water gleaming golden in the sunlight. 

It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Looking at it, she finally understood why Tewksbury wanted to come here so badly. 

She looked at him, and he looked shocked and amazed and a little sad at the same time. Enola wondered how a face could convey all these emotions at the same time, but somehow his face could. 

"Wow." he said, summarizing all of Enola's emotions in a word. "Wow is right", she agreed. "I can't believe they missed this."

He simply nodded, and started walking. They walked together, taking in the new and beautiful sights and smells of the market. He kept on telling her the different biological names for the flowers, and their various uses. 

She was having a lot of fun, and Tewksbury was the most fun teacher she had ever had. "You know", he said, smiling at her, "During the Victorian Era, people used to communicate with each other through flowers."

Enola stopped and raised her eyebrow. "Communication? Through flowers? How's that possible?" 

He smiled. "Well, each flower symbolized something. Like it gave a message to the receiver without arousing any suspicion. Forbidden lovers mostly talked to each other this way." he winked at her, to which she rolled her eyes.

"For example, a Yellow Marquerite stated 'I'm coming soon.' Or Poppy stated, 'I'm not free.' Or a honeysuckle meant 'devoted affection.'

"That's nice to know." she said nodding her head. "How do you know so much about flowers?" she asked, looking at him. 

He smiled a little. "My dad. He loved flowers and everything about them. He used to plant as many varieties of flowers he could find, and would tend to them himself." he said, his eyes distant. 

Enola had never heard him talk about his father before. There was something sad in his eyes when he mentioned him, and she didn't want to pry. 

But he didn't stop. "This is why I wanted to come here so desperately. When I was a child, my father and I used to sit for hours in my tree house, dreaming of coming to this place, and buying a bud of every single flower here. Then we would all plant and take care of them together."

Enola sensed that there wasn't a happy ending to this tale, because his eyes started shining and his voice became lower. "But then suddenly he died and we couldn't complete our dream. I never thought about coming to this place again." 

"Only when Zahra convinced me, I decided to come on this trip. And I made it a point to visit this place before we left. You know, for me and my dad."

Enola nodded and throat choked up with tears. She took Tewksbury's hand in hers and squeezed it, trying to tell him that she was there, that she understood. He smiled at her and squeezed back. 

She cleared her throat. "Well then, we some shopping to do." she said, pointing to a stall. He laughed slightly. "No one gardens anymore at home. Plus I don't have enough money to buy all the buds here."

She crossed her hands. "Look, we came here for a reason. And I'm not going without you buying a bud here. And so what if no one gardens anymore? You can start."

He smiled at her enthusiasm, and walked towards a stall with a beautiful middle aged women attending to some customers. 

"Hello and welcome! How can I help you today?" she greeted them cheerfully as she saw them approach. 

"I would like a bud please. Any one will do." she smiled at him and picked one at random and gave it to him. He smiled and put it in his pocket. 

"And for this lovely lady?" she said, referring to Enola. "Oh that's alright. I don't like flowers that much." she smiled. 

The woman smiled teasingly. "Who doesn't flowers?" she turned to Tewksbury. "Won't you buy your girlfriend a flower?"

At the mention of the word 'girlfriend', Enola's cheeks started to burn furiously and she could sense the same happened with Tewksbury because they both started explaining how they weren't a couple to the woman.

"Um we're not-" "He's not my-" they kept interrupting each other until Tewksbury spoke. "Uh ma'am, we're um, we're not together. We're just friends." 

The woman looked extremely embarrassed. "Oh! I just assumed looking at you two- anyways, I'm sorry."

"It's alright.", Enola managed to say, hoping her red face was gone by now. She couldn't look at Tewksbury again. 

"But just because we're friends that doesn't mean I can't get her a flower." Tewksbury smiled at her, and turned to look at the beautiful tulips displayed. 

"That one, please." he pointed, and paid her what he owed. He turned to Enola. "Here you go. A thank you gift for accompanying me." 

Enola looked at him, and he was giving her beautiful and bright yellow tulip. She hesitated, saying "I really did mean it, you know. I don't like flowers." But then she looked at his pleading grin and rolled her eyes. "I'll make an exception this time though, for you. Thank you. It's beautiful." 

She took the flower from him. He grinned at her and thanked the shopkeeper, who was looking at them with a huge smile on her face. Enola checked the time. "Tewksbury! We're almost going to the miss the bus. Come on, come on!" she grabbed his arm and pulled him through the crowd.

"What's the hurry, Holmes?", he tried not to laugh at her panicked state. He glared at him. "If we don't hurry, we'll miss the bus back to the hotel, and then we'll have to open a stall like them and live here forever."

He continued to sprint behind her. "Would that be so bad? You and me, living together, selling gorgeous flowers everday, and calling a city like this our home?"

Enola imagined what her life would be like. Living with Tewksbury? Her brother would hunt her down and definitely kill her. But for a second there, she loved the idea of being free, in a beautiful city like Amsterdam.

They reached the bus just in the nick of time, and earned glares from the students and professors alike. Taking deep breaths, they tried to find their friends but all the seats around them were taken. Tewksbury took a seat in the front of the bus and called Enola to join him.

Before she did however, her gaze caught Zahra's and she gave Enola a sad shake pf her head as she saw the beautiful tulip in her hand. Enola felt a punch filled with guilt in her chest.

She had promised to stay away from Tewksbury, and even though they both knew nothing happened, she tried looking at the situation from Zahra's perspective. She volunteering to go with Tewksbury alone, them returning all out of breath with her hand clutching his arm, and her hand holding a beautiful flower. If it were her in Zahra's situation, she would also assumed the worse.

With her chest feeling tight, she sat next to Tewksbury. He saw her expression and frowned. "Are you okay Enola?" 

No. This was wrong. She shouldn't be the one sitting next to him, holding a flower he had given her. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired I guess." she lied. 

He nodded. "Yeah. If would've been at that stall for another two minutes we would've missed the bus. And then my hypothetical question would've been reality. I wouldn't have minded it though." he grinned at her.

Imagining living with him only brought her more guilt, so she decided to change the topic. She looked her tulip that she had still clutched carefully in her hand. 

"What does this flower mean?" she asked him. He looked at her in confusion. "What? It doesn't mean anything."

She shook her head. "No like, you told me every flower symbolized something right? And you chose this flower, and didn't asked the owner to pick one for you, like you did with the bud. So it must mean something right?"

He looked at her, impressed. "Wow. Your attention to detail is amazing. And you're right, I did chose it for a specific reason." he smiled shyly at her. "A yellow tulip says that 'you have the most beautiful and dazzling smile i have ever seen, like the sunshine that colours this tulip yellow.'"

Enola was at a loss of words. That was the sweetest thing anyone had done or said to her ever. Instead of thanking him, she rolled her eyes. "You are so cheesy, my god." He smiled at her. "You're welcome. And I mean it. Your smile is beautiful, Enola."

She could feel her cheeks heat up again. "Thank you, Tewksbury. That's incredibly corny, but sweet too." He grinned at her, and looked out of the window.

As Enola stared at the flower, she thought of her promise she had made to Zahra, and how she had told her that Tewksbury was the last man she would have feelings for. But of he kept doing these sweet gestures for her, she didn't know how long she could keep her promise.


End file.
